Life is Strange: Episode 1Review

Aside from its poor dialogue, Life is Strange reminds me most of a Rob Thomas television series. Like Veronica Mars or iZombie, developer Dontnod’s episodic drama stars a regular young woman with an extraordinary quality. Main character Max Caulfield can, for unexplained reasons, rewind time. Aside from that, she’s a typical teenage girl. She has friends, personal problems, passions, dreams, a little crush, and other believable qualities. But a combination of ambition and obligation drive her to use her talents, wit, and personality to make the world a better place. With all of that going for it, Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis is the first step toward something fascinating and personable, but its laughable script and worse performances obstruct its otherwise touching, human story.

Max Caulfield is, mercifully, a likable person. She’s introduced as quiet, shy, introverted, and even unremarkable despite her presence in a prestigious high school. Throughout Chrysalis, by way of your choices, Max reveals herself as a strong, capable, and smart person who defies her awkward stereotype. The story tests these qualities by presenting a plain teenager with challenging dilemmas -- the results of which she can alter at will.

Exit Theatre Mode

Her mundane and meaningful choices can be undone, remade, and tailored to whatever future you want to create for Max. Against all odds, the gravity of her decisions is not lost when repairing the past. I like this system -- it let me not only consider what might happen, but live it, and undo it if I didn’t like it, as every teenager probably wished they could.

Typically, the consequences for your dialogue decisions aren’t immediately apparent. Max expresses worry or regret, in most cases, regardless of what she chooses, because the dilemmas have no clear sense of victory right away. Max can see the short-term results of what she’s done, but once she commits to a decision and moves on, there’s no going back. Her abilities are limited, and even she doesn’t understand why.

Why she can rewind time isn’t apparent, but it allows you to explore a believable setting in interesting ways. If Max upsets her teacher, she can go back, impress him, and feel better about herself. It feels both exploitative and satisfying to use people against themselves, but Max moves through the world trying to help people -- never hurt them. Seeing someone get bullied sucks, but what if you could go back and save them from ever feeling upset?

Not every interaction hinges on a big choice, though. Many conversations give context to this world. The most notable side-arc is that of Rachel Amber, a missing student with connections (both good and bad) to many of the people Max runs around with. The unreliable principle, a student bringing a gun to school, and a try-hard tough guy of a security guard will no doubt come into play later in the series, and I’m interested in all of it.

Life is Strange is a choice-based adventure game with a time-traveling teenager at the center, but Max is, ironically, the most grounded and believable character in the entire cast. Most of the people around her are predictable and boring archetypes, with the actors delivering on-the-nose dialogue with more adolescent awkwardness than any of its characters exhibit themselves. Toward the end of Chrysalis, Max’s rebellious, stoner acquaintance recommends, “You need to get high, it’s been a hella insane f***ing day.” Another character, lacking any semblance of subtlety, threatens, “I will remember this conversation.”

Exit Theatre Mode

In some ways, Life is Strange lacks maturity. Just because it’s about people figuring themselves out doesn’t mean things should be handled without grace. I don’t believe many of these people are teenagers, and I don’t believe many of these teenagers are people -- and that’s a huge problem for a young-adult drama that relies on personality and humanity. Max’s friend Chloe lives a life full of baggage that really made me feel for her. Every time she spoke, I rolled my eyes, and the empathy evaporated. The principal's lack of concern when Max mentions a student has a gun really shocked me -- how can this person not take a claim like that with at least a little dread?

And it’s a shame, because for all of the writing and acting problems in Life is Strange, the scenarios it creates are genuinely interesting, and I want to see how Max handles things going forward. Even if the lines aren’t believable, a lot of the scenarios are. In snooping around other girls’ rooms for intel, I felt like I should not be here. Helping an upset friend with her bad boyfriend felt as good as giving the mouthpiece popular girl what she deserved -- but rewinding, taking the high road, and trying to turn an enemy into a friend felt better. Here’s hoping that pays off.

Click for all episode reviews of the game Life is Strange.

The Verdict

Life is Strange suffers from awful voice acting and writing that doesn’t do its characters and world justice. Dontnod has created great scenarios for a story I’m eager to learn more about, but the moment-to-moment interactions with people in Max Caulfield’s life are pretty painful. Archetypal characters with weak lines and worse delivery don’t ruin everything, but they make it harder to buy into a story that’s trying so hard to have heart.